The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-10-05


and in the State Library, and accessible -
: the whole world. These discoveries were
in the Auditors report OF 1886, and in the
messages of Governors Rgnnells. Quitman.
: Lynch and McNutt. As to all but Coy
McNutt, they consisted merely of state
ments made by them as 10 tie amount Of The
sales Of the Seminary land, and in Gov. I.ynch,s
case and Gov. Runnelrs, a recommends
; ton also of the establishment of a Sem
mary of Learning, as shown by the quota
tions by Mr.. T., (see II. ]. 1885, p. Az for
what Gov Runnells said: II. ]. 1886, p. 24 for
Quitman's, and same book, p. 80. 81 for
Auditor MalIory's, and H. j. 1887, p. 53, for
Gov. Lynch's statement
The quotations in the report from Gov.
McNutt's message dated January Z, 1910
(see II. J. of that year, p. III. also one of
the new discoveries, demands more atten-
ton 1t is as follows: I again invoke
your speedy action on the Seminary fund
1t now amounts, including principal and
interest, to about 100000. The law pro-
| yidiug for the collection and custody of
that fund is very defective, and large
portion of it will certainly be lost unless
taken from the control of those who now
control it. The statement of the Planters
Bank herewith transmitted will place you
| in possession of all the information / have
been enabled to obtain relative to that
| fund"
The very next words after the quotation
in the report of Mr.. Thompson are: 1.-The
| statement here referred to by the Governor
has not been recovered Yet, strange as
it may seem, this very statement will be
| found on PIP. 378-387 of the Il. J. IS+0,
| the very book from which he made the
quotation from Gov. McNutt's message.
But Mr.. Thompson had come under two
] \
vigorous intellect. The first was (see p.
| 303, H. J. 1866 that the Seminary fund
| had been absorbed by degrees, silent and
| insensibIe, into the Treasury of the State
itself,'' and the second was that the time,
manner and means by which this injustice
was DONE could mot be traced, if traced at
all, without an amount of labor absolutely
appalling" So, acting under this first de-
| lusion he inferred that the above quota
ton proved conclusively enough" that the
| fund paid IN had in January, 1910, reached
the amount of 100000. Recurring back
| to the quotation, you will see 1t means
nothing of the sort, says nothing on the
subject of what had been paid into the
Treasury, but rather the contrary, as the
Governor objected to the custody and con-
troll of it as unsafe. And then laboring
under the other delusion that the labor of
I
Thompson omitted to look at that which
was absolutely under his nose. If he had
looked for and found the statement which
Gov. MeNutt informed him and all the
world, contained ALL HE KNEW ON THE SUB
JEoT, he would have found that NOT ONE
SINGLE CENT OF IT WAS IN THE TREASURY
Oh EVER HAD BEEN.
Mr.. Thompson having by this conjecture
got 100000 of principal and interest into
the Treasury in January, 1910, and thus
brought it. as he conceived, under the 1th
section of the act of July 26, 1s43 (before
quoted) allowing simple and compound
interest on MONEY IN THE TREASURY, he pro
ceeded by another conjecture to place
$4,000 of this sum principal in the
Treasury on January 1, 1887, and then he
leaves it to Gov. McRae to work out what
this would be on January L, 1856, by the
combined operation of simple and com
pound interest. Gov. McRae in his mes
sage of Feb. 6, 1856, transmitting Mr..
Thompson's report to the Legislature
worked out this Indebtedness on Mr..
Thompson's basis, to be, on January l,
1856, S652, ,246.42, after deducting payments
and interest thereon to the amount of
S203, ,465.53. Gov. McRae's message was,
in substance, the same as Mr.. Ihompson's
report. l am not able for want of space
W Htb Oub D4OLb JuAlJ LhO LACHooSO oAAN
report. You are referred to the place
where you can find them in both the Sen
ate and House Journals of 1856. Besides
they have been printed in pamphlets by
the University and scattered broadcast
over the land. But | observe that in the
University pamphlet of 1887, before re-
ferred to, though both are largely extracted
from, there is total omission, to set out
the parts above commented on. L make
no complaint of this, except that their in
sertion is necessary to show that ampli-
tude of faliacy, that fulness and complete
ness, that absolutely appalling" perfec-
tion of error and absurdity in these works
as they were produced by the genius and
delusions of their authors. The other
parts of the message and report were
mainly devoted to showing the State owed
even more than the result above obtained,
upon the idea they entertained, that the
| State owed not only what they had thus by
conjecture placed in the Treasury, but the
whole amount of the sales and rents,
whether collected and paid into the Treas
ury or not. A computation called a
| schedule was annexed to Mr.. Thompson's
report made out on this, and on the further
basis of 5 per cent. from May, 1889, to
January 1, 1S43, and then capitalized, and
from the last date to January, 1856, AT
PER CENT. COMPOUND INTEREST, reaching at
the latter date S1,O77, 1909; which was
graciously reduced by allowing compound
| interest on payments by the State, to the
modest sum of 1874, 40. This last
named sum, both the Governor and Mr..
| Thompson insisted was correct and ought
| to be paid by the State of Mississippi. |
might also add, as showing how completely
! Mr.. Thompson acted under both the delu-
sions above stated, thai if he had looked
into the Auditors report for 164l then
suppose accessible) as quoted in the Uni
versity pamphlet aforesaid, ON p. 161, he
would have found that the sum paid into
the Treasury up to that date amounted to
only SIG, ,439; and if he had given a little
further research into the messages of the
Governors of the State, he would have
found that Gov. Brown, in his message of
January 6, 1916 (see Fl. j. p. 14), stated
the amount paid in up to that date was
only S79, 9,54S.76; and if he had paused to
investigate little further and gone into
the Treasurer's Office fall the books were
there them he would have found, that only
the sum of 7S,511.50 was ever paid in
after deducting payments only which were
made from that specific fund.- and prior to
February 25, 1s48.
M'RAE AND THoMPsoN's COMPOUND INTEREST.
II Is I'd De AOOs tiidt
Thompson and Gov. MeRae, in calculating
compound interest, claimed, though Illegal
ly, under the act of July 26, 1843. Com
mence on January L, of that year, and con-
tinue down to the end of the period of
their calculation on January 1, 1856,
which period begins at date months
and 25 days before the passage of the act,
and continues years. 10 months and
days after its repeal, besides also calculat-
ing the interest on a principal about four
times as large as the law authorized. This
amplifcation of the amount was sort of
literary and financial necessity to secure
perfect harmony with their other assump-
ton that the 18th section of the act OF
1S43 had both an ante-fatal and pos
nao7tem vigor and malignity, plundering the
Treasury both before its conception and
after its death. As matter of law, the au.
thority for this was just equal to Their
i right to commence the calculation of in
> terest from the dawn of creation and con
3 tinue to the final Judgment.
With this sort of calculation submitted
. to, the utter bankruptcy of the people OF
the State will only be question of time
that time being the date when in the opin
/ ion of the University the people have sc
3 far recovered from the effects of the late
> war as to justify that institution in de
mandlng the remaining one ana nan
3 millions, and compound interest thereon
b now asserted to be due, besides the $544,
Q 061. 20, recognized and put at interest by the
: act of 1880. These claims, if many year:
1 shall elapse, may under the same system
;. of computation, amount to anywhere from
five to fifty millions of dollars, according
! to the fancy of the accountant.
q Now let it be noted that this message oi
2 Gov. MeRae. submitting the report of Mr.
: Thompson, was sent to the Legislature OF
February 6. 1856 (See H. J.. ID. 425A. Il